Indiana Beer News – March 22

If you’ve missed out on Upland’s Gilgamesh Flanders Red, or are just longing for another taste, there will be complimentary samples available at Goose the Market in Indy in their Enoteca room this Friday from 5:30-7:30pm. Get there early to make sure you get in on this epic event.

Looking to clear out your stockpile of cheap plastic beads this weekend? You may want to try Muncie Gras! on Saturday in downtown….uh, Muncie. Upland will be giving out samples at the Heorot as part of the festivities. One word of caution – I’m guessing Muncie police are not as tolerant of flashing as their counterparts in New Orleans.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the brave new world of beer event scalping brokering! As Wilk pointed out with the glut on eBay, tickets for Dark Lord Day that retailed for $15 are also being offered on Stub Hub for $175-200. That makes me a sad panda. But after the recent shortage at the KBS release, Founder’s will be following the same pre-sale ticket strategy for their event next year. Better start saving your money now.

A recent tweet from Founder’s indicated their barrel aging program will reach about 1100 barrels by the end of this week. We like to classify things like this in the category of news that doesn’t suck.

In additional Founder’s news (I promise this will be the last), the powers that be in Alabama are not real down with the “objectionable” beer titles of Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard. Don’t expect Stone Brewing to pay ‘Bama a visit any time in the near future.

The age of <relatively> cheap Barleywine may be sadly coming to an end. Yes, Sierra Nevada has finally realized that nobody else in their right mind is selling the style in affordable six-packs and will be shrinking next year's offering to four-packs. Hit your Dislike button now.

In addition to the videos Bob shared yesterday, the Spill-Proof Beer clip from Hahn Australia is developing quite the following. It kind of left me just scratching my head….but hey, don’t say we didn’t jump right on the bandwagon.

If you haven’t taken the plunge yet to follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter, glance over to the sidebar on the left to find an easy way to rectify this problem and bring sanity to your life. While you’re there, scroll down and check out some of the other quality beer blogs Indiana has to offer.

OK, so this has nothing to do with Indiana or much of anything really, but I’ve become aware of a fledgling brewing establishment in Tennessee going by the name of Turtle Anarchy. Turtle Anarchy!!! Love it, wish I could say they stole the title to my hypothetical brewpub, but the folks at Against the Grain Brewery in Louisville already took care of that. Sigh….

Cheers, Nathan 

 

Misc News – Dec 19

Take the The Hoosier Beer Geek 2009 End of Year Readers Survey.

It's time to renew your Mug Club memberships.

Indiana Rep. Baron Hill joins the Small Brewers Caucus.

Bruce and Barb Kehe, Duneland Homebrewers, and Shoreline get ink in the News-Dispatch. article

Bob O's full Dec/Jan article for Ale Street News is online. They synopsizeit for print. Maybe the first 3 paragraphs explain why.

Things we learned from Jim Herter's column in Great Lakes Brewing News.

Shoreline's Batch 200 will be out this month. It's a black IPA. Sum Nug IPA and Beltaine Scottish will be available at the brewpub in 22oz bottles starting in January. Sam has Upland's old 12oz bottling line so look for 6-packs next year.

Back Road will have Pole Shift out soon. Made with pear juice and Amarillo hops. Chuck, please bring some to the Winterfest.

Bee Creek Brewery is adding Clay County Coffee Stout to their lineup. It uses Brazilian Santo coffee from Jameson Coffee in Greencastle. Look for it in stores and pubs. They have 16 outlets now – mostly in a line from Terre Haute through Indianapolis.

Alcatraz will have Sledgehammer on tap next month. 8% from crystal hops and honey.

Muncie:

Everyone in Muncie is talking about Savage's Ale House. No web site to send you to, sorry. Just opened. 8 or so draft beers and 60 (craft, import, and oddball beers). They say the food is great and the restrooms are spotless. We'll have to stop in sometime after the 3pm daily opening. They serve food until 2am. 127 High Street at Main.

We're told The Fickle Peach is the #1 Founders account in Indiana. Right now, only three on tap though, Dirty Bastard, Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, and Breakfast Stout – the ale you drink with a fork.

The Heorot has a keg of the Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada collaboration which should be tapped any day now. Stan has 48 on tap and some bargain pints to be found.

• $3 and less: Bell's Oberon, FFF Alpha King, Upland Rad Red,
• $3.50 and less: BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bell's Sparkling, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, DFH 60-minute, New Belgian 2° Below, Pyramid Juggernaut, Spaten Optimator, Upland Schwarz.

Speaking of good food, Brugge Brasserie's Steak and Eggs for $13 is a bunch. Way over a half pound of excellent skirt steak, 2 eggs, all slathering your frites. Oh, and did we mention the pictured beer is this year's Thunder Monkey. Yep. It's back in time for New Year's Eve. Cherry bark brown. Belgian winter ale that's light on Belgianness with quite subtle hints of spices. Tamarind, Galanga Siamese ginger, and touches of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. Special and quaffable even at 7.5%.

Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy, has Liz's version of Old Curmudgeon on tap. It's a hazy wheaty yellow IIPA with nice Belgian lace. IIPA. Orange citrus hop bomb alert. Abandon all hope all ye taste buds who enter here.

J K O'Donnells in Fort Wayne

What Should I Drink? Beer Edition (Flowchart).